


A Work in Progress

by ravensnwritingdesks



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: (kind of), Artist Tina, F/M, Fluff, Tina has a secret, Tina loves to draw, newtina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-24 17:24:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10746363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravensnwritingdesks/pseuds/ravensnwritingdesks
Summary: Porpentina Goldstein has a secret passion, something that has always helped her get her mind off things for a while... Art. Newt discovers her secret in the week he stays with the Goldstein sisters.





	A Work in Progress

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, somthing not revolving around [A Most Magical Creature](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8798086/chapters/20170054)!.  
> This story is inspired by an old [headcanon post](https://madelienepotter.tumblr.com/post/158985235580/newtandtinainsidethesuitcase-headcanon) I recently rediscovered in my tumblr drafts... so I would call it a fill for the SecretArtist!Tina request from @madeleinepotter.  
> Enjoy!

Tina concentrated on the paper before her, the scratch of her pencil as it slid over the off-white page to leave precise lines of dark grey behind. Lines that, looked at in their entirety, formed a picture full of light and shadows. It was a nice way to escape the boredom that so often befell her here at work, to alleviate the feeling of being trapped so deep underground.

Porpentina Goldstein had a secret passion: she loved to draw and sketch and paint. People, places, interesting paraphernalia... nothing was safe from being recreated on paper once it had caught her eye. It had started with little doodles on her study notes at Ilvermorny... and nearly had stopped there too when a classmate maliciously made fun of her while she was deeply lost in her drawings during study hour. She had been very careful ever since not to loose herself so while being around others.

Because even though she had tried for a while, she just couldn't stop. Her pencils and paper were a wonderful outlet, a way to balance her overly driven and study-focussed side with creativity. It had helped her all throughout school and her Auror training and to this day still was her favourite way to spend her spare time. And Tina fancied herself reasonably good at it too. Well, reasonably good for someone whose actual job was to run about the city catching criminals and offenders of the law.

 _Had been_ , she corrected herself. That _had been_ her job. Nowadays she was actually filing papers in the Wand Permit Office... and counted herself quite lucky to have the chance to still work for MACUSA at all.

She heard the precisely measured footsteps long before the person responsible for them came into view. Unhurriedly Tina finished the last pencil strokes meant to add more depth into the scene on her paper, then closed the little book and tucked it away inside her jacket. Going back to look over the permit applications on her desk she looked quite busy at work as her boss entered the small space she called her office.

"Good morning, Mr. Abernathy," she greeted him with a calculated smile, just this side of friendly and respectful.

He was a rather small man and altogether tried too hard to make an impression with his appearance (neat to the point of over-correct), his stance (straight-backed to rise to his full height), his eagerness to agree with anything from higher up. Abernathy reminded her strangely of an overexcited puppy whenever one of the higher-ups was in the vicinity... begging for attentions he was yet to actually receive.

Right now he seemed more of a puppy pretending to be the alpha dog of the group though.

"Goldstein. Why aren't you on break yet? It's well past midday!"

Tina let a frown appear on her face and tilted her head to look at the clock on her desk. "Really? I hadn't noticed, sir."

Actually, she was well aware of the time... she just hadn't been in the mood to go out for lunch with everyone else earlier. Unawareness for being busy with her job, a perfect excuse.

Abernathy's stance changed slightly and something like a chuckle escaped him. He shook his head at her. "Hard at work then, I see."

And the excuse worked like a charm on her boss, easily deceived as he was. This man would not get his wish for a promotion for a long time yet the way everyone could just walk over him like that. But she didn't tell him any of this, instead she smiled at him and nodded.

"It's almost 2pm, so go get yourself a sandwich and some fresh air. And don't you dare come back here before your hour is up, Goldstein."

She inclined her head again and obediently closed the folder in front of her. "Of course, sir."

Happy with her feigned compliance Abernathy turned and vanished back into the vast underground expanse that was the Wand Permit Office. Rows and rows of desks and pillars, with only few people actually around at any given time. Tina stretched in her chair and with a sigh got up as well... getting some lunch didn't sound too bad after all.

 _I'm more in the mood for a hot dog though_ , she thought as she grabbed her coat from a hook on the nearest pillar.

The way to the nearest kosher deli would bring her right by the Second Salemers' favourite meeting point. Just because she wasn't supposed to keep an eye on them any longer didn't mean she couldn't pass by on her way to get lunch... right?

 

* * *

 

Newt Scamander had to stay with them for a whole week after the incident with Grindelwald. There was simply no earlier passage across the Atlantic for him to  book, and even that one had been quite a lucky find. Not that either of them actually minded his prolonged stay... Newt's continued presence in their lives effectively distracted Tina from the reality of her own failures. Credence could still be alive if only she had been a little earlier, if only she had realised that her former boss was not actually her former boss.

She followed gladly when Newt invited her to join him and his creatures instead. Escaping into Newt's suitcase, she found, worked so much better for lifting her spirits than any escape into her art... simply because it was actually there and not just a figment of her imagination. And the company may have something to do with it as well.

On the evening of Newt's second day with them Tina climbed down into the magical suitcase again. A small smile tucked at her lips whenever she arrived at the bottom of the steep ladder. The homely shed surrounding it was a curious place, characterized by its orderly disorder of work utensils, research and mindless clutter from all over the world. There was a strong urge to just snoop around a little and get to know the man living here, but while Newt had allowed her to come down here whenever she liked, he would surely not be too pleased to have his privacy invaded like that.

Resolutely, Tina opened the wooden door and entered the real marvel of Newt's suitcase instead, the wide expanse of living spaces. She found the Magizoologist busy at work, patting down a large dangerous-looking beast she knew to be a Nundu, checking him over for injuries. She didn't approach any further, remembering from the night before that this very creature wasn't too fond of company...

Instead she spent a few moments silently watching the man and then wandered around the habitats of the friendlier magical creatures for a bit before settling down on a pile of wood not far from the shed. This magical world of his had awed and inspired from her the first time she had been down here a few days ago, and it still did. The colours, the exotic plants and landscapes... not to mention the creatures themselves.

A Diricawl with its fledglings plopped into view before her and regarded her with large curious eyes. Tina gazed at the colourful bird with its short but sharp beak, then took a quick look at her surroundings for a moment. She slowly reached into the inner pocket of her jacket and withdrew a familiar notebook and pencil, opening it to the next available page. With a smile Tina Goldstein began to sketch the wonders around her.

 

* * *

 

On his way back from the Nundu habitat Newt turned the corner to find a most interesting sight before him. Tina was sitting quietly on a pile of building material, surrounded by a flock of curious Diricawls and scribbling away in a small notebook with a smile. The colourful but skittish birds seemed to have accepted her as friendly enough to not vanish every time she shifted and Newt wondered briefly if Tina would get on so well with all of his creatures.

For some reason he really wanted her to... He liked seeing her here inside his suitcase, admiring his creatures, interacting with them. He had never felt lonely on his travels, but having Tina here made him strangely feel less alone all the same. Hers was the kind of human company he did not mind at all... and it baffled him a little.

It didn't take him more than a minute of silently watching her to revise his previous impression of her doings though. Tina was not scribbling into her book, she seemed to be sketching. The Diricawls in front of her by the looks of it. Himself familiar with the process he recognised the movements of her pencil on the paper... accurate, but either too long or too short to actually form any kind of letter or script.

He didn't know that there was an artistic side to Tina. She seemed more of a no-nonsense, both-feat-firmly-on-the-ground kind of person than anything to him. And yet, why not? Being a practical person didn't mean she had to lack imagination or talent. It was the apparent contradictions that made people interesting... and Tina Goldstein was in many ways a most interesting person to him.

Newt smiled to himself and let her continue her sketching in peace.

She didn't mention anything when she joined him by the Occamies a little later. The book and pencil had been tucked away out of sight, her smile was still there though and Newt was happy to see it. It widened even more when she told him about petting one of the Diricawls as they threw little insects to the nest of small slithering creatures.

Neither did she speak about her drawings the next day when he had noticed her sketching the Occamies, or the day after when she had sat at the entrance to the Erumpent's habitat with the sketchbook open on her lap.

Newt never mentioned his observations either... Some things were fated to remain secret passions and Tina's reasons for her silence were her own. He couldn't say that he was not curious about it though.

 

* * *

 

During the week he stayed with them, Newt introduced her to all of his creatures. Some of them she had gotten to know safely from a distance, others had slithered along her arms or sat on her shoulders as Newt explained their often tragic stories to her.

She had gotten to know the man himself too. A little at least. Magical creatures were his life and main interest, the suitcase had been his home for more than a year as he was travelling the world for field studies. Newt was very open and passionate when talking about his work but less so when conversation turned to his own person.

Tina had found out though that his mother was well known in England for breeding Hippogriffs, that his father and brother held positions high up in the ranks of the Ministry of Magic. Which, she assumed, probably made Newt the black sheep of the family for turning his back on all of that and following his passion for magical creatures.

But not a single word had been spoken about the ominous Leta Lestrange that Queenie had informed her about.. and she frankly was to afraid to ask. Newt wore no ring on his hand, but she could be a fiancée back in London for all she knew. At least this girl was important enough for him to carry a picture of her on his travels... which made it all the more unsettling for Tina to realise that she had come to like Newt. She liked him quite a bit.

Most of her spare time that week Tina spent in the case, either with Newt or alone with her sketchbook. It had filled considerably in the past days... creatures, plants, habitats. She carried a big part of Newt's suitcase with her as sketches on paper by the end of the week. Only the man himself she hadn't had the opportunity to draw yet, even though she dearly wanted to.

The crooked smile, the blue-green eyes, the freckled face partly hidden behind a messy fringe... it begged her to start sketching. But it would be too risky to just take out her sketchbook in front of him and start... Questions would be asked and as much as Tina Goldstein loved her drawings, she didn't actually want anyone to know about them. Too big was her fear of being judged for it. She couldn't bear being ridiculed for something she loved so dearly. Only Queenie actually knew about this secret passion of hers, and it was supposed to stay that way.

So instead she continued to hide away with her sketchbook when Newt seemed busy. And if it was a place from where she could watch him for a bit, it was completely by accident.

 

* * *

 

The night before his departure Newt found Tina dead asleep near the Niffler's burrow with her notebook still propped open in her lap. Queenie had treated them to a wonderful home-cooked dinner earlier that evening before all three of them had gone down into his suitcase to spend some more time with the magical creatures they wouldn't so easily get to meet again. But Queenie had left hours ago and he hadn't been aware that Tina was still down here with him.

She was propped up against a boulder, an uncomfortable way to fall asleep he knew from experience. Newt couldn't leave her there. He tried to wake her by shaking her shoulder and calling her name, but to no avail. Shaking his head he chuckled softly and envied her for her ability to be so dead to the world. Shouldn't an Auror be always vigilant?

He quickly made up his mind and gently took the book and pencil from her, tucked them into his waistcoat before lifting Tina's sleeping form up into his arms and carrying her away. She didn't even wake when he laid her down on the cot that usually was his own bedstead and drew a blanket over her. Not that he had no way to get her out of the suitcase and into her own bed in the flat.., but there was still the minor fact that she shared the bedroom with her sister and Queenie was already asleep up there. It would be more than inappropriate for him to go in there, even with the best of intentions. He cast a Soundproofing Charm around her so she would sleep undisturbed.

A little later and sighing with relief Newt settled down into an armchair tucked away in the corner of his workspace when he remembered the sketchbook. He retrieved it from inside his waistcoat and looked at it for a moment, a simple and inconspicuous notebook bound in grey cardboard. At this late hour his curiosity finally got the better of him and he opened the pages carefully only to marvel at the pencil sketches and coloured drawings he found within. He recognized parts of the city and Tina's office, a smiling Queenie... followed by a number of his creatures. There were some of the Diricawls and Occamies, Dougal and the Erumpent peacefully grazing. Plants and entire habitats, even his shed and the Niffler's burrow she must have been working on when she fell asleep. And an unfinished sketch of himself as well...

Her drawings were really good. So good in fact that for a moment he considered asking to use her sketches instead of his own to illustrate his book. But he couldn't let her know he had seen them without also admitting to invading her privacy like this... Whatever her reasons, Tina obviously wanted to keep her wonderful talent a secret from him. He slowly flipped through the book once more before placing it carefully onto a table where she would see it come morning.

Newt returned to his own stack of paper and read over some of his own notes again. In six days time he would be back in London and he hoped to be able to hand his publisher at least one finished chapter of his manuscript... instead his mind drifted off, trying to find a way to let Tina know how much he admired her sketches.

 

* * *

 

Newt boarded his ship a week after Grindelwald had been captured, returning to England and the life he had there. He seemed as reluctant to leave as she was to see him go... but then the ship's horn sounded and his departure could not be delayed any longer.

His tentative "I'll send you a copy of my book if I may" had unexpectedly turned into a "How would you feel if I gave you your copy in person?" and Tina treasured his promise to return more than anything. Even more than the feeling of his warm hand touching her hair. Newt had left the city on her day off and so she spend the entire afternoon curled into the little armchair in front of the fire... finishing her drawing of the Magizoologist before his features started to slowly fade from her mind.

A week later she got a short note of his safe arrival in London. He received a carefully worded letter in return, detailing the not so interesting happenings in her life since he left. His reply was short but cordial, informing her of upcoming travels in the new year and that it would likely leave him unable to write to her for a while.

Three weeks after Newt's planned departure from London another letter arrived for Tina from overseas, penned in Newt's equally messy and elegant handwriting.

 

_Dear Tina,_

_I hope this letter will find you and your sister well and in good health.  
_

_You may remember I was headed for Africa last we corresponded, but the trip to Congo turned out to be rather disappointing I have to confess. My investigations of the reported Tebo sightings amounted to nothing but a common African warthog, equally wild but less magical in nature. It is a pity for I would have liked to finally meet one of those fascinating but elusive creatures._

_My travels have returned me to London again and I continue my work on my manuscript at my desk at the Ministry. Pickett is none too pleased about this development, he quite favours travelling to being locked up indoors. I give him a week until he either starts causing mischief in the Beast Division or decides to rejoin the branch in the suitcase. I myself secretly hope for the first... it would make for a far more entertaining day for everyone involved._

_As my publisher continues to insist that I add sketches of all the creatures included in my manuscript I find myself in need of an illustrator now. Would you by chance happen to know someone I could turn to... someone willing to spend their precious time and impressive talent on me and my creatures for a bit?_

_Yours hopefully,_

_Newt_

 

Tina read his letter once, twice, three times before the disbelieving frown finally changed into a small smile. She was well aware that Newt must have seen her drawings that last night when she had fallen asleep. She had woken up in a bed that was not her own with her sketchbook and pencil placed on a table next to it. He hadn't said anything about it that morning, nor as they said their goodbyes at the docks a little later... and Tina had secretly been relieved. 

But this was Newt asking her to sketch for him. An honest praise and request for her talent casually written into a letter so she had time to make up her mind about his... proposal. Would she be willing though?

Spending more time with Newt did indeed sound... appealing, especially now that he knew about her secret. But have her drawings published in a book? Well... as long as her name was not in there no one would connect the sketches to her, would they?

Still smiling Tina went to the small bureau in the corner of her living room, reached for fresh parchment and quill and began formulating a reply.

_Dear Newt..._

 

* * *

 

"Do you know why I asked you to illustrate for me all those years ago?" Newt wondered, lowering the book he had been reading. He was resting in a comfortable armchair with a nice cup of tea by his side.

The cheeky reply came from near the window where his lovely Tina was painting the view of their summer garden. "Because you were so awed by my talent you couldn't think of anyone better suited?"

"That might have played into it as well, my dear," he chuckled. His own attempts at illustrating had certainly paled in comparison to those of her. "But really, it was my _excuse_."

Tina looked up from the colourful canvas frame on her easel to raise her eyebrow at him in question.

"My excuse to come and see you again," he explained with a soft smile. "I couldn't possibly do that without an excuse. Nor the next time. Or the time after that..."

"Until one of us finally had the guts to act on what had been there all along, hm?" Her lovely brown eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Yes." Newt smiled down into his tea cup, remembering. "I didn't have to have an excuse to visit you after that anymore... thankfully."

That first intensely passionate kiss of hers had cleared up quite a few questions he had had... most importantly what would happen to them next since that first edition of his book had been completely illustrated by then and their time of working together had come to an end.

"Uh huh. You just relocated to New York permanently to court me properly," his wife chuckled in answer. Such an enchanting sound in his ears.

"What can I say?" Newt replied softly. "Leaving was always the most dreaded part of every visit to you, so I just... decided not to leave again."

Tina smiled at him. "Any particular reason for this little trip down memory lane, love? I'm not that old yet, you know? I still remember how this all started."

Newt got up from his armchair and walked over to her with his book in hand. He showed it to her, a sizeable tome bound in red leather. "I just had a look at the new edition of _Fantastic Beasts_. Seeing the ' _Illustrated by Porpentina Scamander_ ' made me a little nostalgic... We had out first fight over that I think, right?"

She nodded. "Rightly so... you put my name in there when I asked you not to."

Newt huffed a small laugh. "Your exceptional gifts needed to be recognised... and I was not about to get that praise for myself. You know my talents in the art... utterly sub par compared to the masterpiece that is my wife." Tina responded with an amused snort. "Though... back then you were probably more of a work in progress, hm?" 

His comment earned him a playful slap to the shoulder and a stern glance that soon morphed back into a smile. As it always did. Her smile continued to turn into a smirk though and suddenly he found himself at the wrong end of her brush when she drew a line of green across the back of his nose. His undignified splutters ended in giggles for both of them. "Ah, the good old times," he mused once his breath had returned to normal.

"When the hair was still full of colour and the lines on our faces not nearly as pronounced you mean?"

Newt leaned in to kiss her cheek. "You're still just as young and beautiful to me as you were in '26, my dear."

Tina's laughter was drowned out by the shouting of children at play wafting in through the open window. Their grandchildren Edward and Rolf, staying for a few days as their son and daughter-in-law spent a weekend by themselves.

"You're still such a charmer," his wife chuckled and put her brush away. "Come one, let's see what those two are up to out there... I don't think they're playing with the Kneazles anymore."

Gentlemanly behaviour deeply ingrained, he helped her down from her stool, since at the age of 80 now even his stubborn Tina had agreed that some adjustments needed to be made. Not even magic could cure the side effects of growing old past a certain point...

"Come on then, grandma," Newt chuckled. "I'm sure the little rascals could do with a few biscuits and a glass of milk after playing outside all day." 

Tina grinned at him. "I'm sure they do... And so could grandpa, hm?"

"Oh well... if you're offering to bake I'm not saying no. Maybe those small ones with the strawberry jam inside?"

**Author's Note:**

> This was only supposed to be a short little something of about 1000 words. Obviously I failed at that xD  
> Thank you for reading. Comments and kudos are very welcome. Like every fanfic writer I live off your feedback, people! 
> 
> If you are interested in updates on any new works I post you can either subscribe to my [AO3 profile](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ravensnwritingdesks/pseuds/ravensnwritingdesks) or follow my tumblr [@ravens-and-writings](https://ravens-and-writings.tumblr.com/).


End file.
